Dragon Age II Appreciation Thread

[Forsaken Lover]

So as I start Act 3 of my 4th DA2 run, and also because of the BioWare vs. Bethesda thread, I feel compelled to makethis.

The sequel to the popular Dragon Age: Origins, I heard almost nothing except complete derision for this game even back before I played a a Western RPG. Like the Mass Effect 3 controversy, it's just not something you can avoid if you hang out on gaming forums.

But, having played it...I like it. A lot. Would I say it's better than Origins? No. There are things in Origins I like more than in 2. Of course, there are things in 2 I like more than in Origins. They are very different games and appeal to me for different reasons.

I'll just say this - I'd sooner replay DA2 than Inquisition. Inquisition is aannoying grindfest. Grinding can be fun, see Skyrim, but not in Inquisition. I played that game once and I'll never play it again.

But we're here to talk about the current middle child, not the first or lastborn.

For this thread, please list only Pros for DA2. What you LIKED about it.

I'll start.

1. The music. DA2 had a great soundtrack.
(SPOILER)

2. The Qunari and the Arishok specifically. The Arishok is probably thebest "villain" in any DA game. Igot the "A Worthy Rival" trophy without even meaning to simply because he's a fascinating, intelligent character and I often agreed with him. It is rather odd that the one game without a qunari party member, unless you count Tallis in DLC, does the best at teaching us the ways of the Qun.

3. Romances being open to both Male and Female Hawke. You cannot imagine how frustrated I was going from DA2 to Mass Effect. Femshep gets goddam nothing. Apparently Miranda was supposed to be bisexual but BioWare decided Mass Effect 2 was too perfect so they inserted a flaw to build character.

4. The scale and setting and tone. Not out to stop a Blight, not out to save the world, just trying to save my family and later my tiny city-state home. My companions are true companions and not just a little mini army I'm recruiting to fight a big threat. It's one thing I distinctly recall noticing when I first played DA2. Sure, Alistair and Morrigan didn't get along, but it was in a charming sort of way. Not so with Fenris and Anders, Fenris and Merrill, Aveline and Isabela, Carver and everyone.... It was a very dysfunctional group and I got the distinct feeling they almostall hated each other but Hawke was there as the one uniting, pacifying factor.


5. Friendship and Rivalry. You can get entirely different perspectives on your companions depending on which path you take them down. I loved that. It could effect their development, as it does with Anders, or it just effects your dynamic with the character, like how Aveline is ready to tear her hair out over how selfish and petty you can be.0

I think that's a decent start.

[Vyk]

I really like that there is a big RPG where all you do is save the town. Not the country. Not the world. This was a great idea and done extremely well all things considered. And I'd like to see someone else try it and build off what was learned here. Or for them to revisit the idea

[Spuuky]

I actually think DA2 is a great game, despite the obvious flaws (which do indeed exist).

I was really mad that I couldn't side with the Arishok though.

[Del Murder]

I like that Hawke actually talked and wasn't a silent protagonist. And I always chose the sarcastic option so he was really funny.

It was also cool to see a game where time passes and you get to see how events play out.

Aveline was my favorite companion. We were BFFs.

I was a dual dagger rogue and nothing could hit me. Most of the time I didn't even need a party to kill everything, but having them around sped things up. I usually brought Aveline, Fenris, and Merrill. You don't need a healer in this game except for that one dragon fight maybe.